Bowing Australia's outback fences : a sonic cartography

The Great Fences of Australia project of Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor finds the duo crisscrossing the continent in pursuit of their instruments. They draw on bass and cello bows to reveal the sonic properties of diverse fences, including the iconic Rabbit-Proof and Dingo Fences. Their bowed fence explorations are the result of a collision among the biophony, the geophony, and the anthrophony, as evidenced by five transcriptions from their many road trips. The sonic complexity of fences is echoed in the rich metaphors that they suggest. Outback landscapes may be experienced as awestruck splendor as well as read for historical signs, both ancient and modern. Following on this, the duo joins the landscape as documenters, facilitators, and catalysts - as sonic cartographers sounding the land, the lives, and the politics of the Australian outback.14 page(s